Ciardullo's 1st Priorities: National Debt; Opioid Crisis

NEW CITY, NY — Joe Ciardullo is challenging incumbent Rep. Nita Lowey to represent the people of the 17th Congressional District in New York. An Independent running on the Reform Party line, Ciardullo is campaigning with the motto "Average Joe for Congress" because, he says, career politicians have made a mess in Washington.

A clock on his website shows how fast the gross national debt is skyrocketing. "The debt we are leaving to our children is unsustainable. They are the ones who will have to pay it back," he wrote.

The 17th Congressional District includes all of Rockland County, and portions of central and northwestern Westchester.

Patch sent the same questions to all candidates asking them to respond.

PATCH: What are the biggest issues facing the Hudson River and Hudson Valley that affect your communities?

CIARDULLO: High taxes. Rockland is the second highest taxed county in the nation and Westchester is the first.

The Tappan Zee Bridge - 4 billion dollars, no light rail, no idea how to pay for it, no idea how high the tolls will be and NO FEDERAL FUNDING received.

Enforcement of existing zoning laws. RLUIPA law needs to be changed to ensure that towns can keep existing zoning laws and follow comprehensive master plans.

PATCH: How would you apply the adage ‘think globally, act locally’?

CIARDULLO: Encourage more people to get involved at a local level with charities, volunteerism, and community. Buy local, support local businesses. Promote energy conservation, recycling and freecycling

PATCH: Property taxes are an issue for all our communities. What’s your position on the Shared Services projects? How would you bring school districts into that discussion?

CIARDULLO: Shared services is a MUST. School districts need to utilize more share services. We should look at consolidation of school districts (where possible) There should be more electronic ordering of goods and services from standard contracts, leveraging the buying power at a state level.

PATCH: What would your first priorities be if elected?

CIARDULLO: Fix the do not call registry and caller ID spoofing - (this should be an easy one to fix). Work on stopping the opioid epidemic. Getting funding for the VA Mission act

PATCH: It’s a divisive election season - how would you serve all your constituents?

CIARDULLO: I am running as an independent candidate on the REFORM party line. I am not beholden to either major party and I can vote my conscience. I will vote on issues as it relates to average Americans. I will be the lobbyist for us average Americans as we are not represented in Washington, they seem to only listen to big donors, big business, and special interests.

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